Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: 1 Corinthians 11 and Psalm 119: 65-96

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul’s concern was to teach the Christian community in Corinth to worship the Lord with the honour due to Him. That is the heart of everything that follows.

When it comes to codes of dress for Christians attending worship, different people and cultures will have different standards of what is proper. Rightly so, attending Christian worship services among local people in the many non-Westernized nations or cultures of the world will vary in terms of what people wear. Each people and culture have very distinct unwritten rules of what is proper, and styles of dress will communicate a lot about who people are and what their lifestyles are. Corinth had particularly powerful sensitivities regarding what was proper for both women and men due to the widespread temple prostitution and other prevalent forms of immorality.

I do not believe that Paul intended to lay down exact dress codes for all times and places, but the principle underlying his teaching is that nothing we wear should send a message that dishonours the Lord. In Corinth, that looked a specific way. Each of us would benefit from considering whether we are as determined to honour the Lord as Paul was – even with regard to our clothing.

Likewise, when it came to the Lord’s Supper (what we call “Communion”), Paul wrote to address specific ways the local church was dishonouring the remembrance of Christ’s death for us. What we need to look out for will be very different to what they were doing to dishonour Christ because our circumstances are so different. The general principle remains, though. Communion is a sacred remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross, and it must be honoured as such. In verse 27, Paul writes:

… whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 

In worship, everything we do and say, the way we do and say so, and even the clothing we wear must honour the Lord, honour our remembrance of His great sacrifice, and honour one another (in whom the Spirit of the Lord dwells).

Life application: When I participate in the Lord’s Supper, how shall I consciously take time to “examine myself” (v.28) in order to intentionally repent of any sin I’m still allowing to rule over me, remembering that Christ died to liberate me from it? When I participate in the Lord’s Supper, am I discerning the body and blood of Christ (v.29)? Am I consciously recognising what each of the elements communicate symbolically; namely, the body-breaking, blood-shedding, self-sacrificing death of Jesus for me?